Album Review

Album Review #10: Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk (1957)

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brilliant-corners-thelonious-monk

I didn’t enjoy The Atomic Mr. Basie very much, so what a surprise it was that directly following it on the list was Brilliant Corners: simply put, the best jazz album I’ve heard in this book so far. It was one of Thelonious Monk’s first major successes as a jazz musician, and for good reason; it’s incredibly engaging, creative, and well-performed, and just a great listen start to finish.

The title track that opens the album is, in my opinion, the strongest track of the album. It’s intro, in particular, is one of the best openings to a song that I’ve ever heard, and certainly leaves a lasting impression. It switches back and forth between different tempos at a moments notice, and is a little hard to keep up with at times, but still manages to be one of my favorite jazz tracks in the book so far. Fun fact: the track was so difficult to play that they never got a complete perfect take, and they ended up having to stitch together different recordings in post. Another great track is “Pannonica,” a seriously heavenly sounding, almost lullaby-like song that made me feel like I was melting into my chair with relaxation. If there’s any track I didn’t like as much, I would say probably “I Surrender, Dear,” a solo piano piece, but not because it’s in any way bad, just because it’s unfortunate enough to be on the same album as the other four jazz masterpieces.

So this album was most definitely a pleasant surprise. Thelonious Monk’s jazz prowess is truly unparalleled, and must be witnessed to be understood. Anyone with even a minor interest in jazz should give this album a listen.

Favorite Tracks: “Brilliant Corners,” “Pannonica”

Least Favorite Track: “I Surrender, Dear”

Next Up: Palo Congo by Sabu (1957)

Album Review #9: The Atomic Mr. Basie by Count Basie (1957)

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the-atomic-mr-basie

Welp, I’m back! Sorry about the unannounced hiatus, I’ll be trying to keep up a more frequent upload schedule going forward.

Anyways, we return with The Atomic Mr. Basie. My opinions on this album are a little mixed: I enjoyed many of the tracks, but in the end it just didn’t leave much of an impression on me. None of the tracks were “bad,” per se, but a lot of it just seemed forgettable to me. It’s no Ellington at Newport, but it still had its highlights.

“The Kid From Red Bank” starts the album off on a high note with its explosively energetic trumpet section and great jazz piano. The following track, “Duet,” is slow, minimal and relaxing, with great bass playing and a calm atmosphere. More highlights include “Double-O” and “Teddy the Toad,” the former upbeat and cheerful, and the latter quiet with brief loud trumpet sections. My favorite track is “Lil’ Darlin’,” a quiet, sweet and subtle closing track featuring very good saxophone and bass.

The album has several good tracks, but overall, despite these, I still came away from it underwhelmed. Quite a few of the tracks just sound too similar for them to stick out, and the album as a whole just came off as kind of forgettable. So while I did enjoy it somewhat, I don’t strongly recommend this album.

What do you think of this album? I would love to hear your opinions and feedback!

Next Up: Brilliant Corners by Thelonious Monk (1957)

Album Review #8: The “Chirping” Crickets by Buddy Holly and the Crickets (1957)

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The Chirping Crickets cover

Jeez, 25 minutes? A little on the short side, wouldn’t you say? Anyways, this is a great album, and one of the most important records for the future of rock as a whole.

The songs are simple. No flair, no solos, no extravagance. Just basic, stripped down love/rejection songs—the longest of which is only two and a half minutes—with a simple message and catchy melodies. The Crickets certainly knew what they were doing, and in this case the simplicity really benefits the album. “Not Fade Away” is probably my favorite track, with a great stop-and-start structure filled with a strong feeling of restrained energy. “An Empty Cup (And a Broken Date)” is another highlight, and a rather sad one too, with a slow tempo and some pretty depressing lyrics. Buddy Holly is a great singer, able to sing thoughtful ballads and energetic rock songs with equal mastery, and the backup vocals accompany the music with a country-like harmony. The instrumentation isn’t complex, usually only utilizing the standard guitar/bass/drum combo, but I find that the music’s simplicity is really its strongpoint. It really works well for the music that they play: flashiness is unneeded, only good ol’ catchiness and rhythm.

A shadow of tragedy looms over some albums, and sadly this one is no different. The Crickets would only make two albums before Buddy Holly left the band to pursue a solo career. One year later, while touring with fellow musicians Ritchie Valens and Jiles “The Big Bopper” Richardson, the airplane they were aboard lost control in the wintry conditions and crashed, killing the three of them plus Roger Peterson, their pilot. The tragedy may have become known in later years as “The Day the Music Died”, but their music truly did live on, having a massive impact on the course of music history for decades to come. I would highly recommend the album Chantilly Lace by The Big Bopper, and Self-Titled by Ritchie Valens is an absolute must-listen (the fact that it isn’t featured in this book is seriously a crime). Listen to these albums, and keep their memory alive.

Next Up: The Atomic Mr. Basie by Count Basie (1957)

 

 

Album Review #7: Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! by Frank Sinatra (1956)

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Songs For Swingin' Lovers! cover

The second Sinatra album on the list so far, Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! is much different from it’s predecessor, In the Wee Small Hours. It’s much more upbeat and cheerful, in contrast with his previous record, which showed a much more gloomy and introspective atmosphere. While I still prefer the former album, this one’s still an outstanding album in it’s own right.

As with the preceding record, the instrumentals are by far the album’s strongest point. However, the album puts less of an emphasis on Disney-score-like strings and more on a jazzy, somewhat uptempo style. Lyrically, it’s also much less of a downer. Instead of focusing on loneliness and bitter break-ups, Sinatra sings about feelings of love and joy. It still has quite a few moments of emotion, however, with particular note going to “We’ll Be Together Again.” It’s kind of difficult to pick stand-out tracks on this album, seeing as they’re all great. Sinatra may not have written his own lyrics, but he still found a way to inject each of his performances with huge amounts of passion. I’m not usually one to exaggerate, but he might just have been the greatest Pop artist of the decade.

Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! is quite simply an incredible record. The singing is great, the instrumentation is superb, and it’s just a great listen start-to-finish. I couldn’t recommend this one more.

Next Up: The “Chirping” Crickets by Buddy Holly and the Crickets (1957)

Album Review #6: This is Fats Domino! by Fats Domino (1956)

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This is Fats Domino cover

First off, let me say something: the book has a major error in the entry for this album. It lists the wrong title, citing the admittedly confusingly similar album This is Fats!, released a year after the correct album, This is Fats Domino!. The track listing and accompanying short essay is for the correctly titled album, so that will be the album I review here. Hopefully this will be the only major error made in this book, but I’m only six albums in at this point, so that’s difficult to say.

Anyways, this album didn’t impress me as much as I had hoped. It’s a quality album, don’t get me wrong, but it just didn’t make that much of an impact on me. The opening track, “Blueberry Hill”, is very good, with great jazz instrumentation and a memorable vocal performance. It was one of his biggest hits, and for good reason too. However, this is one of those albums that sadly makes the huge mistake of making the best track the first track, and a lot of the following songs just don’t meet the expectations that “Blueberry Hill” sets. There are still quite a few good songs though, such as “What’s the Reason I’m Not Pleasing You”, “Reelin’ and Rockin'”, “Poor Poor Me”, and the instrumental “The Fat Man’s Hop”. The instrumentation is very good throughout, with particular note going to the piano, saxophone and percussion.

Overall, I wasn’t quite disappointed, but I wasn’t quite impressed either. I don’t have a positive or negative opinion. I’m just kind of indifferent, to be honest. There were several good tracks, but it just didn’t really do much for me. What are your thoughts?

Next up: Songs For Swingin’ Lovers! by Frank Sinatra (1956)

Album Review #5: Ellington at Newport by Duke Ellington (1956)

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Ellington at Newport

There are two versions of this album: the original release, which is an abridged version, and the re-release, which contains the full concert performance. I believe the full version to be far superior, if only for the original’s omission of the finale “Skin Deep”, one of the best moments of the entire concert. For this review I will be reviewing the complete version.

With that out of the way, let me just say that this is one of the greatest jazz albums I have ever heard. Every instrument compliments every other almost perfectly. The saxophones are incredible sounding, the trumpets are energetic and filled with life, the quiet and reserved bass takes the background adding great amounts of subtlety, and the drums keep the beat but still manage to stand out. Every performance is almost perfect. Heck, the audience loved it so much that they refused to let it end! That’s right, the last fifteen minutes or so of the album were unplanned, and are only present because the crowd wouldn’t let them stop. 

As the longest album I’ve reviewed so far at just over an hour and twenty minutes, it definitely doesn’t feel that long. The music is so good that you really just get lost in it, and before you know it, it’s over. I would say that every track was great, but there were definitely some standouts. The three-part suite of “Festival Junction”, “Blues to Be There” and “Newport Up” are truly great. “Festival Junction” is eight minutes, but the jazz instrumentation is so good that the length becomes irrelevant. “Newport Up” is fast and exiting, and bounds with energy. “Diminuendo in Blue” is the longest track, at fourteen minutes, and right in the middle is possibly one of the best saxophone solos ever put to record. The record ends with “Skin Deep”, a nine minute attempt to please the raving adoration of the crowd, and mostly consists of an outstanding drum solo that truly ends the show on an amazing note.

This has been one of the best albums I have reviewed so far. I’ve never listened to much jazz before beginning this project, but after this album, I am seriously regretting that. I would make this album required listening for any fan of jazz or really music in general, just make sure you’re getting the full experience with the complete edition.

Next Up: This Is Fats Domino by Fats Domino (1956)

Album Review #4: The Wildest! by Louis Prima (1956)

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The Wildest! by Louis Prima 1956

This album will make you feel good whether you like it or not. The songs featured here are filled with an almost tangible feeling of energy. If you’re a fan of jazzy swing and ridiculous levels of catchyness, this is the album for you.

The record starts off with a medley of two songs: “Just A Gigolo” and “I Ain’t Got Nobody”. It’s got great rhythm, kept by the drums as well as the piano/bass combo. It’s this combo of bass and steady piano rhythm that really makes the song, and it also happens to reappear on a few other tracks later in the album. One element that really sticks out is Louis’ distinctive singing style, although it is heavily borrowed from Louis Armstrong. His singing just fits very well with the jazzy instrumentation.

Some other album highlights include the Jazz instrumental “Body and Soul”, as well as the fast, peppy call-and-response song “Oh Marie”. The album ends with the almost bizarrely out of place “(I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead) You Rascal You”, an almost comedically callous and cold song about, well, being really happy that someone’s dead. All with the same cheery, upbeat instrumentation as the rest of the album, to top it all off. Strangely, it kind of works. It’s a good song, and it still seems to fit with the rest of the record despite it’s dissonant lyrical subject.

Simply put, I enjoyed the crap out of this album. It’s got great, catchy songs, great vocal delivery, and is just the right length to top it off, at just over thirty minutes long. I would highly recommend that you listen to it, you might just find yourself enjoying the crap out of it as well.

Next Up: Ellington At Newport 1956 by Duke Ellington (1956)

Album Review #3: Tragic Songs of Life by The Louvin Brothers (1956)

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Tragic Songs of Life by Louvin Brothers

I’m going to be perfectly honest; this album left me underwhelmed. While there were a few things that I enjoyed about it, it just seemed a little… bland. The different tracks just sounded like each other, and while the lyrics were generally pretty good, the music itself was just lacking.

The Louvin Brothers are considerably big names in the world of Country. Tragic Songs of Life is thought of as a landmark album in the genre, along with their 1959 record Satan is Real. However, while I can see the importance of this album, it just didn’t make that much of an impression on me. I’m not that experienced in the genre of Country music, but I still enjoy it as much as I enjoy pretty much any other music; I have always held the belief that there is amazing music to be found in every genre. The guitar is enjoyable to listen to, particularly the riffs usually kicking off each song, and Charlie and Iva’s vocal harmonies are admittedly incredible; I would go as far to say that the singing is by far the best part of the record. However, the Brothers’ personal lives prove to be much more interesting than the music itself.

You see, Iva “Louvin” Loudermilk was what you would call an incredibly unstable human being. An extreme alcoholic and womanizer with borderline dangerous anger issues, his flaws were so severe that it was sometimes even dangerous to work with him. His behavior reached a horrifying peak when he attempted to strangle his third wife with a phone cord, which prompted her to shoot him multiple times in the chest in self-defense. Miraculously, after a presumably long time in recovery, he survived. In 1963, his brother Charlie finally decided to split with his brother and start a solo career, distancing himself from Iva. Two years later in 1965, Iva was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Ironically, Iva was currently wanted on a DUI charge.

So with all of this as a backdrop, it’s a little bit jarring to listen to the album and hear such stable, calm and traditional songs. Even if the lyrics are occasionally very dark (“Knoxville Girl” is particularly messed up, coldly and casually recounting a murder, and with pretty much no explanation as to why) the sound of the music itself really offsets that. The emotions being expressed through the lyrics are just cancelled out by the frankly dull instrumentals.

Overall, I didn’t enjoy this album. The songs just didn’t sound that inspired, and while the singing and harmony itself was excellent, the rest just doesn’t seem to meet the same quality. The songs all seem to sound similar to each other, and even if the lyrics are often good, it really doesn’t make up for the negatives. If you aren’t a diehard Country fan, I wouldn’t recommend this album.

Next Up: The Wildest!, by Louis Prima (1956)

Album Review #2: In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra (1955)

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In the Wee Small Hours Sinatra Cover

I was pleasantly surprised by this album. As the oldest album on the list, it holds up incredibly well. The writing, instrumentals and vocals are all borderline perfect. It’s also a very sad and melancholy record, being mostly inspired by a particularly nasty breakup with his wife Ava Gardner.

The music itself is without a doubt my favorite part of this album. The strings, horns, and and occasional bells all work together to create a truly sublime score that sounds straight out of the most well-orchestrated classic Disney film you can imagine. Listening to this album is like having silk, milk and honey injected directly into your eardrums. …Actually, that sounds horrifying. Never mind, bad example.

This was a difficult and emotional album for Sinatra to make, and it shows. The lyrics are sad, the vocals are soulful and the album as a whole just gives off an incredible sorrowful vibe. Most of the songs are about loneliness, isolation and often unrequited love, which makes sense, as the album was mainly inspired by his recent separation with his wife, Ava. The emotions in this album are real and strong, and it’s easy to tell.

So overall, this was a very good album. The combination of absolutely incredible instrumentation, lyrics and vocal performances make this a truly unforgettable album A true masterpiece that you should absolutely listen to.

Next Up: Tragic Songs of Life by the Louvin Brothers (1956)

Album Review #1: Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley (1956)

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Elvis Self titled 1956

We start off this monster of an album list with a true classic: the world’s first taste of the King of Rock n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. I’ll have to admit, I was very surprised by this album. As my first taste of classic 50’s rock n’ roll, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it or if I would simply find myself uninterested. But this album really surpassed my expectations; the fast songs were incredibly catchy, the slow songs were incredibly well-performed, and altogether it was just a very solid album.

No album is without its flaws, however. I noticed several inconsistencies with volume and audio quality; on some tracks Elvis sounded almost like he decided to start singing away from the mic mid-song for no particular reason, and a couple tracks were of a noticeably lower audio quality than the rest. This didn’t really have much of an impact on the listening experience, though. The tracks were just too strong for something like that to have an impact on the album’s quality.

The opening track, “Blue Suede Shoes”, is a great kick-off, with an energetic performance and great guitar and drums to back it up. The album’s many slow ballads are heart-felt and and well-sung, and are split up with fast rocking tracks in between to keep up the pace. The best of these is definitely “Tutti Frutti”, an incredibly peppy and upbeat Little Richard cover that really bounds with energy (however, the original is still superior, in my opinion). “Blue Moon” is another highlight, but in a different way. It’s very minimalistic, stripped down and slow-moving, but great nonetheless.

Overall, I enjoyed this album very much, and would recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in classic rock n’ roll.

Next Up: In the Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra (1955)